Need quick help with amonia

[dlauber]

OK I got my LR today and without thinking I started aquaskaping before testing amonia, after I finished setting up rocks I dropped a peice of raw shrimp in, it has been frozen, thawed, then frozen again previously.
Then I tested my water for amonia and it was ALREADY 1.5mg/l and I didnt think the shrimp couldve caused it that fast, and I did test my water the day I mixed my salt for the first time and the amonia was 0.
Anyways I took the shrimp out right away andn I just have it setting on the counter cause I dont know if I will need it again.
Im just kindof confused and worried, I had some extra saltwater that I siphoned out while adding my LR, but I accidently had my sister dump it, so now IM mixing a new batch right now, its just one gallon containter with a 127 GPH powerhead that also shoots bubbles out...so should I wait the full 24 hours before I add it (its RO water also btw)

 

[m0nk]

Originally Posted by Dlauber
OK I got my LR today and without thinking I started aquaskaping before testing amonia, after I finished setting up rocks I dropped a peice of raw shrimp in, it has been frozen, thawed, then frozen again previously.
Then I tested my water for amonia and it was ALREADY 1.5mg/l and I didnt think the shrimp couldve caused it that fast, and I did test my water the day I mixed my salt for the first time and the amonia was 0.
Anyways I took the shrimp out right away andn I just have it setting on the counter cause I dont know if I will need it again.
Im just kindof confused and worried, I had some extra saltwater that I drained before adding the rock, but I accidently had my sister dump it, so now IM mixing a new batch right now, its just one gallon with a 127 GPH powerhead that also shoots bubbles out...so should I wait the full 24 hours before I add it (its RO water also btw)
Well, I'm not sure what 1.5 mg/l equates to in ppm, but if it is over 1ppm, you might want to do a water change so not too much dies off of the live rock, imo. And you wouldn't need to use the shrimp either.
Also, you don't necessarily have to let the SW mix for too long when there's no inhabitants in there, a few hours max is just fine at this point. Just be sure it's actually all mixed and there are no salt particles floating around or resting on the bottom of your mixing bucket.

 

[dlauber]

its like a cyclone in my 1g bucket, lol
and....I didnt think that it should be PPM, ill try to see if I can find an equation, I know over 1 ppm is bad
ok from what I understand from whatever I just read, 1mg/l = 1ppm

 

[dlauber]

ARGGH, I just tested my water again and now its 3ppm
Should I just change out the water now???!! Its only been mixing for half an hour, maybe 40 minutes, and theres no salt on the bottom of the container.
How much does it usually take to completely kill the LR

 

[snakeblitz33]

If your pH is stable at 8.2, I would go ahead and do a water change. You should never EVER add uncured or "precured" live rock to a tank.

 

[b bauer]

is this your 10g tank

 

[dlauber]

yes its my 10g tank....
Ok I will check my PH now
also I checked the amonia 3 more times since originally, so so far thats 2 readings of 1.5 mg/l and 1 of 3mg/l and one was ever .25mg/l
this was the order
1.5 mg/l
3 mg/l
.25 mg/l
1.5 mg/l
I though these liquid test kids were supposed to be the way to go..

 

[jw1977]

If it's a new aquarium it's okay to add isn't it

 

[dlauber]

that was my understanding...I did rinse it off in saltwater first tho to get some fine power/rubble off
My PH was good at 8.2 so Ive changed about 2 3/4 gallons over the last 5 hours or so using RO water, each time the salt had mixed for about a little more or less then an hour.
I removed my carbon filter, I dont have any new ones to replace it though
My SG has remained between 1.025 and 1.027 the whole time.
My ammonia I tested twice more after the 2.5 gallon and got 1.5 PPM both times....does anyone think my LR is completely dead by now?
I started mixing another gallon of salt water about an hour ago so its gonna have about 13 total hours of mixing before I change it.
Its a 127 GPH in 1gallon of water so it will have circulated 1600+ times...I think that should be enough for 1 gallon to mix properly.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by Dlauber
that was my understanding...I did rinse it off in saltwater first tho to get some fine power/rubble off
My PH was good at 8.2 so Ive changed about 2 3/4 gallons over the last 5 hours or so using RO water, each time the salt had mixed for about a little more or less then an hour.
I removed my carbon filter, I dont have any new ones to replace it though
My SG has remained between 1.025 and 1.027 the whole time.
My ammonia I tested twice more after the 2.5 gallon and got 1.5 PPM both times....does anyone think my LR is completely dead by now?
I started mixing another gallon of salt water about an hour ago so its gonna have about 13 total hours of mixing before I change it.
Its a 127 GPH in 1gallon of water so it will have circulated 1600+ times...I think that should be enough for 1 gallon to mix properly.
Your rock isn't dead. Some people have it spike to over 8ppm. If you want to preserve the life such as any hitchikers, pods, microfauna, on your rock then keep the ammonia under 1ppm if you can. Don't get worked up over it though. The rock is still alive and will still grow coraline algae.

 

[dlauber]

thanks alot dude, that just like completely revitilized my day =D
anyways I just changed my water, gotta wait another 20 minutes for the test results, but so for it seems as if its gonna hover around .25
I Dont think I had any hitchhikers anyways....was a bit dissapointed when examining my rock, or are some hitchhikers reallly good at hiding

 

[dlauber]

the last amonia test was about 1mg/l now, so aparently its going down somewhat
I just wonder what happens next, I know nitrite will spike, but what will happen to amonia, will it just randomly drop? Should I keep doing water changes?
I just tested nitrite and its reading 0.3mg/l exactly, is that a sign that nitrites are spiking or will it go way past that?

 

[mcbdz]

Ok, now would be a good time to sit back and just chill. Wait until tomarrow to test amm. again. I wouldn't do any more water changes unless you still go way over 1ppm. If you keep doing them you are not going to let your cycle run it's course. This is the HARD part. Let it cycle for awhile and don't mess with it. I can almost promise you, yuo'll see hitch hikers later. They continue to show up months after setup.

 

[dlauber]

I couldnt help but smile while I read that, just felt so good to hear something positive =D.
I dont have a problem with waiting because I want to do everything as perfect as I can. But by way over 1ppm, do you mean like up to 3 or anything past 1ppm at all.

 

[dlauber]

OK, well I did another 1 gallon water change last night so I could have salt water ready in the morning if I need to do a water change.
My amonia is STILL reading 1.5, but over night my nitrite jumped up to between 1-3 PPM, previously it was <0.03 PPM
Should I change my water out again? its been mixing for 14 and half hours now.